Expert: Russian adoption ban a way to 'get back' at U.S.

Published: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 7:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 10:49 p.m.

A move that abruptly ended prospects of joining new families for more than 50 Russian children is the backlash from a new American law that some Russians feel is "a gross interference in their internal affairs," a local expert says.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children. Russian lawmakers view the move as a way to "get back at the United States" for a law targeting human rights violators, said Eugene Huskey, a professor of political science in the Russian Studies program at Stetson University.

But the Russian law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will mean 52 children who were in the pipeline for U.S. adoption will remain in Russia, children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov told the Associated Press.

The tension dates back to 1974, when the U.S. passed the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, Huskey said. The law "was crafted to put pressure on the Soviet Union for human rights abuses" but became a point of friction between Russia and the U.S., according to the Council on Foreign Relations website.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama signed a law that calls for sanctions against Russians assessed to be human rights violators. The measure eliminates the long-obsolete 1974 law and opens new export opportunities for American businesses, but includes a section that would refuse visas and freeze financial assets for officials guilty of human rights violations.

The new American law stems from the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was arrested after accusing officials of a $230 million tax fraud. He was repeatedly denied medical treatment and died in jail in 2009. Russian rights groups claimed he was severely beaten.

Some Russians feel the new American law is more offensive than the 1974 amendment, Huskey said. Many Americans don't understand "the great sensitivity that Russians have to being treated in ways that they believe don't befit the status of a great power," he said.

"They see themselves, understandably, as a great power and they don't want to be scolded by the parliament of another country," Huskey said.

But critics say Russian lawmakers are using children as political pawns and jeopardizing their hopes of finding loving parents. UNICEF estimates there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia while about 18,000 Russians are on the waiting list to adopt a child. The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children — more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades.

Michael Shorstein of Shorstein and Kelly, an adoption law firm with offices in Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, called the ban on U.S. adoptions "a disgrace." Shorstein's practice focuses on domestic adoptions, but he's worked with parents who are deciding whether to adopt children from the U.S. or go abroad.

"It's a lose-lose situation for us, but most importantly for the children," Shorstein said.

Russians historically have been less enthusiastic about adopting children than most Western cultures. Putin, along with signing the adoption ban, on Friday issued an order for the government to develop a program to provide more support for adopted children.

There may be many reasons Russians are more reluctant than Americans to adopt children, but living conditions in Russia likely are one factor, Huskey said.

"Most Russians live in apartments where they don't have an extra bedroom," he said. "It's not a three-bedroom, two-bath world there."

Additionally, some Russians view American adoptions as "a black mark on Russia itself" because they feel it shows they can't care for their own children, Huskey said.

Though high-profile cases of American parents mistreating adopted Russian children are rare, Russians are especially cognizant of these situations, he said. The new Russian law was dubbed the "Dima Yakovlev Bill" after a toddler who died in 2008 when his American adoptive father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours. In that case, the father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and Russia has complained of acquittals or light sentences in other such cases.

A different case about a Tennessee mother who sent her 7-year-old adopted son on a plane back to Russia in 2010 garnered international attention.

"Anytime there is a story like this it is played to the hilt by nationalist forces in Russia," Huskey said.

<p>A move that abruptly ended prospects of joining new families for more than 50 Russian children is the backlash from a new American law that some Russians feel is "a gross interference in their internal affairs," a local expert says. </p><p>President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children. Russian lawmakers view the move as a way to "get back at the United States" for a law targeting human rights violators, said Eugene Huskey, a professor of political science in the Russian Studies program at Stetson University. </p><p>But the Russian law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will mean 52 children who were in the pipeline for U.S. adoption will remain in Russia, children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov told the Associated Press. </p><p>The tension dates back to 1974, when the U.S. passed the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, Huskey said. The law "was crafted to put pressure on the Soviet Union for human rights abuses" but became a point of friction between Russia and the U.S., according to the Council on Foreign Relations website. </p><p>Earlier this month, President Barack Obama signed a law that calls for sanctions against Russians assessed to be human rights violators. The measure eliminates the long-obsolete 1974 law and opens new export opportunities for American businesses, but includes a section that would refuse visas and freeze financial assets for officials guilty of human rights violations. </p><p>The new American law stems from the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was arrested after accusing officials of a $230 million tax fraud. He was repeatedly denied medical treatment and died in jail in 2009. Russian rights groups claimed he was severely beaten. </p><p>Some Russians feel the new American law is more offensive than the 1974 amendment, Huskey said. Many Americans don't understand "the great sensitivity that Russians have to being treated in ways that they believe don't befit the status of a great power," he said. </p><p>"They see themselves, understandably, as a great power and they don't want to be scolded by the parliament of another country," Huskey said. </p><p>But critics say Russian lawmakers are using children as political pawns and jeopardizing their hopes of finding loving parents. UNICEF estimates there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia while about 18,000 Russians are on the waiting list to adopt a child. The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children &mdash; more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades. </p><p>Michael Shorstein of Shorstein and Kelly, an adoption law firm with offices in Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, called the ban on U.S. adoptions "a disgrace." Shorstein's practice focuses on domestic adoptions, but he's worked with parents who are deciding whether to adopt children from the U.S. or go abroad. </p><p>"It's a lose-lose situation for us, but most importantly for the children," Shorstein said. </p><p>Russians historically have been less enthusiastic about adopting children than most Western cultures. Putin, along with signing the adoption ban, on Friday issued an order for the government to develop a program to provide more support for adopted children. </p><p>There may be many reasons Russians are more reluctant than Americans to adopt children, but living conditions in Russia likely are one factor, Huskey said. </p><p>"Most Russians live in apartments where they don't have an extra bedroom," he said. "It's not a three-bedroom, two-bath world there." </p><p>Additionally, some Russians view American adoptions as "a black mark on Russia itself" because they feel it shows they can't care for their own children, Huskey said. </p><p>Though high-profile cases of American parents mistreating adopted Russian children are rare, Russians are especially cognizant of these situations, he said. The new Russian law was dubbed the "Dima Yakovlev Bill" after a toddler who died in 2008 when his American adoptive father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours. In that case, the father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and Russia has complained of acquittals or light sentences in other such cases. </p><p>A different case about a Tennessee mother who sent her 7-year-old adopted son on a plane back to Russia in 2010 garnered international attention. </p><p>"Anytime there is a story like this it is played to the hilt by nationalist forces in Russia," Huskey said.</p><p></p><p><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i></p>